FAMU Vice-President for Audit and Compliance Rick Givens
told university trustees on Wednesday that Grant Thornton LLP was selected for
the job and will submit its written conclusions on Feb. 16.
The FAMU internal auditor normally carries out such
investigations. But the FAMU Board of Trustees (BOT) voted to have an outside
company do the review after Givens reported “potential interference with the
work of Audit & Compliance” in an Oct. 21 email to then-Chairman Rufus
Montgomery.
“I do believe it would better serve the institution if we
were to have an outside independent voice given that the vice president of
audit and compliance has already experienced what he perceived as interference,”
the then-chairman said during an Oct. 22 emergency conference call.
The BOT voted 9-0 during the call to hire an external
auditor to conduct a report on the renovation projects at the President’s House
and bonuses that were awarded to members of Mangum’s staff.
On Oct. 1, the Florida auditor general’s office asked Givens
to look into whether two purchase orders for renovations at the President’s
House had received BOT approval. The first was issued February 13, 2014 and was
for $300,209. The second, which was for a garage project, was issued on June
19, 2014 and was for $71,529.
The employment agreement between Mangum and the BOT states
that: “Dr. Mangum shall obtain prior approval from the Board (or its designee)
for any capital improvements or repairs to the home or its grounds which have a
project cost over $10,000.”
Givens told the state auditors that he couldn’t find any
documentation that showed the BOT had approved the purchase orders or been
informed about the garage project. His December report to the BOT stated that
any findings by the Florida auditor general would probably be included in the
upcoming state financial audit for FAMU.
The Florida Board of Governors inspector general also asked
about the garage project in a Sept. 9 email to Givens and will likely be
interested in the final report from Grant Thornton.